fast breathing clown loaches

[JDH]

My loaches seem to be acting odd, even for a clown... They seem to be breathing rather quickly, is this normal? I have two of them. One of them was sort of swiming head first to the top of the water and putting his mouth out a bit... that seemed odd to me since they usually don't travel up that high.

Also, they don't seem to be active at all. I've had them for about 3 weeks now, and i thought they would be more active by now. They're almost always hiding when i'm watching the tank. Is this also normal?

I just finished doing a water change, so hopefully that will help them. Does anybody have a suggestion?

Thanks.

 

[Lateral Line]

Botias hail from streams with a lot of water movement, and hence Oxygen in the water. They suffer badly when there is low Oxygen in the water. Possibility?

 

[pnyklr3]

As weird as this may sound, my clown loaches all eat at the top of the tank during "feeding time". They spend the rest of their time playing and scouring the bottom for more food. I have heard about other people's loaches being shy, but mine have always been out and about. Do you only have 2? I think it is best to get at least one more. They seem to be happier and more active when in groups of 3 or more.

Are they breathing more quickly now than they were 3 weeks ago? If they aren't gasping at the top of the tank (almost all of the time) I don't think I'd worry about it too much. Keep an eye out for clamped fins, as this is one of the first signs of stress.

Hope this helps!

~Jade

 

[JDH]

What would clamped fins look like? Or does it look like it sounds? lol I'm going to buy another one shortly i think.

Thanks for the help everyone so far.

 

[pnyklr3]

It is exactly what it sounds like. The dorsal fin is the most noticable when it's clamped down on the fish's back. The tail can clamp up too. Basically, clamped fins look like the fish is squeezing it fins shut tight.

 

[JDH]

All their fins appear to be perfect. I'm going to keep an eye on them.

 

[Red]

Your tank looks rather bare. Reading up on loaches they like lots of hidey holes. I found that mine were hiding in a corner at the back of the tank all the time until I added a bunch of plants and more rocks. Surprisingly MORE hidey holes result in less hiding and they are out and about most of the time now. Maybe some more decoration will help them feel more secure and you'll see more of them. It's annoying when you have fish that won't show themselves.

 

[JDH]

Your tank looks rather bare. Reading up on loaches they like lots of hidey holes. I found that mine were hiding in a corner at the back of the tank all the time until I added a bunch of plants and more rocks. Surprisingly MORE hidey holes result in less hiding and they are out and about most of the time now. Maybe some more decoration will help them feel more secure and you'll see more of them. It's annoying when you have fish that won't show themselves.

See those rocks on the left side? That is a formation of rocks that i put together for them before i bought them. There are about 10 little hiding spots that they love, alot of hidden exits and entrances, ect. They're almost always hiding somewhere in there. I'll post pic of that area for you if you want.

Unfortunately i couldn't find one of the loaches today, i had to move all the rocks because i can't see inside all the little areas they hide in. Anyways, one of the loaches is dead.

I'm going to buy 2 new clowns this week. I'm afraid that my 1 remaining loach will be very lonely until then.

 

[JDH]

This video of my tank shows the rocks alot better.




fish video

 

[JDH]

I bought 2 new clowns today, and all 3 seem to be getting along nicely. They're even swimming around the tank.